Robot Arm Comparison 2026

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Six arms, five price brackets, one decision. Here's how the research and education arms we actually stock — SO-ARM101, OpenArm 1&2, AgileX Piper, Franka FR3, xArm 6/7, and UFACTORY 850 — compare on DOF, payload, reach, price, and LeRobot/ROS support, with real US prices and direct buy links.

Looking for a narrow SO-ARM head-to-head? See SO-ARM100 vs SO-ARM101. This guide covers the full range, from desktop servo arms to force-controlled research arms.

Full comparison table

Arm	DOF	Payload	Reach	Repeatability	US price	LeRobot	ROS	Buy
SO-ARM101	6	0.5 kg	~400 mm	±1 mm	$500.00	Native	ROS2 (community)	SO-ARM101 →
AgileX Piper	6	1.5 kg	626 mm	±0.1 mm	$3,500.00	Yes	ROS1 + ROS2	Piper →
OpenArm	8	2 kg	~700 mm	±0.5 mm	$5,400.00	LeRobot v2	ROS2	OpenArm →
OpenArm 2	8	2 kg	~700 mm	±0.5 mm	$5,600.00	LeRobot v2	ROS2	OpenArm 2 →
UFACTORY xArm 6	6	5 kg	700 mm	±0.1 mm	$9,500.00	Yes	ROS + ROS2	xArm 6 →
UFACTORY xArm 7	7	3.5 kg	700 mm	±0.1 mm	$11,000.00	Yes	ROS + ROS2	xArm 7 →
UFACTORY 850	6	5 kg	850 mm	±0.02 mm	$10,500.00	Yes	ROS + ROS2	850 →
Franka FR3	7	3 kg	855 mm	±0.1 mm	—	Yes	ROS + ROS2	—

Prices in the table are live Robotics Center store prices; shipping is calculated at checkout. Contact us for dual-arm pairs, FR3 configurations with Franka Hand and academic license, or volume and lab pricing.

How to choose

Cheapest capable arm for LeRobot or class demos → SO-ARM101
If you're following the LeRobot tutorials or running a student workshop, the SO-ARM101 is the reference hardware. It's open-source, servo-driven, and has first-class LeRobot dataset support out of the box. Pair two of them and you have a bimanual rig. See SO-ARM100 vs SO-ARM101 if you're deciding between generations.

Budget mobile arm or ROS2 starter → AgileX Piper
The Piper is a 6-DOF lightweight arm (4.2 kg) built for mounting on mobile platforms — its reach (626 mm) and 1.5 kg payload make it practical for pick-and-place demos on a rover or AMR. Supports both ROS1 and ROS2, Python API, and AgileX's mobile-manipulator kit. If you're building a mobile manipulator on a budget, start here.

Research teleop and imitation learning → OpenArm or OpenArm 2
Both OpenArm generations are 8-DOF arms designed specifically for teleoperation data collection and LeRobot v2 integration. The extra two degrees of freedom (vs. a standard 6-axis arm) give you wrist articulation that matters for dexterous tasks. OpenArm 2 adds improvements to wrist design and contact-rich manipulation ergonomics. For bimanual setups, order two OpenArm arms as a matched pair (current store price: $5,400.00 each).

Mid-range with industrial precision → UFACTORY xArm 6 / xArm 7 / 850
The xArm family offers 5 kg payload, 700 mm reach, ±0.1 mm repeatability, and a well-supported Python + ROS2 + UFACTORY Studio stack at a fraction of traditional industrial-arm prices. The xArm 7 adds a 7th redundant axis for complex workspace routing. The UFACTORY 850 extends reach to 850 mm with ±0.02 mm repeatability — industrial precision for automation tasks that require it.

Force-controlled manipulation research or policy benchmarking → Franka FR3
The FR3 is the reference platform for a significant share of published manipulation and imitation-learning papers. Torque sensing in all 7 joints, ±0.1 mm repeatability, 855 mm reach, and tight Panda-ecosystem compatibility make it the right call when reproducibility against the literature matters, or when you need compliant contact control that servo or position-only arms cannot provide.

LeRobot & ROS compatibility in detail

All arms in this guide have documented ROS2 support. The distinctions that matter for a data-collection pipeline:

• SO-ARM101 — listed as reference hardware in the official LeRobot repository; community ROS2 driver available on GitHub.
• OpenArm / OpenArm 2 — built with LeRobot v2 dataset format as the primary output target; ships with data-collection software and wrist camera mount.
• AgileX Piper — first-class ROS2 package on GitHub (agilexrobotics/piper_ros); works with LeRobot via ROS2 bridge.
• UFACTORY xArm series — official xarm_ros2 package; used widely in academic manipulation papers; Python SDK for scripting.
• Franka FR3 — franka_ros2 driver; torque-level access via libfranka; the broadest published baseline coverage of any arm here.

Bimanual setups

If you're building a bimanual teleoperation rig:

• Cheapest bimanual — two SO-ARM101 units (current store price: $500.00 each). Works with LeRobot's bimanual scripts.
• Research-grade bimanual — two OpenArm arms (current store price: $5,400.00 each), ordered as a matched build. Add a wrist + head camera set for full observational coverage.
• High-fidelity bimanual — two Franka FR3 units; full torque sensing on all 14 joints; the standard for policy papers requiring contact-rich bimanual data.

Related guides: SO-ARM100 vs SO-ARM101 · Robot Joint Motor Comparison 2026 · Full hardware store · RCSV Eval